Advising in the Liberal Studies Program

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Advising students about their LSP requirements, whether as an academic instructor or staff professional, calls for knowledge and understanding of the program's architecture. More importantly perhaps is how our LSP reflects the core values of a strong liberal arts education.

This is evident in how the learning domain requirements for undergraduate majors, across the 10 undergraduate colleges, are structured to complement and not duplicate what students already are learning in their major field. Thus English majors have a reduction of LSP courses in the Arts & Literature learning domain, while Chemistry majors are exempt from Scientific Inquiry domain area requirements. Because of these unique college by college (and major by major) variances in how LSP requirements are established, it is absolutely essential for advisors, academic instructors in particular, to familiarize themselves with exactly what is required of majors in their own home unit.

Beyond grasping the basic course requirements associated with the LSP, academic advisors also shape the attitudes of how students approach this substantial component of their overall curriculum. Language such as "you can get that requirement out of the way" should never be used by an advisor, and when such sentiments are uttered by advisees, a conversation should follow about the value of a liberal education.

One way to develop more positive views about the 12-13 courses required across the learning domain is to encourage students to take these courses strategically so as to form a Course Cluster out of them (e.g., cities, sexuality, Asian cultures, etc.) See the Themed Grouping Suggestions page under Current Students, to learn more about the option and view samples of some themed grouping possibilities. ​